"Speak."

The command was unmistakable, though I translated it as don't make a single misstep.

"You were right: Saul and Simon's household overflows with love. I saw it in their eyes, their words, their actions. They defended their eldest while respecting me and taking responsibility for what happened."

Domiel's gaze sharpened.

"Tomorrow, I will board a zeppelin bound for my lands, with Enoch at my side... and I would like you to consider, Domiel, the possibility of entrusting Abel to me."

And then, the blade of his stare fell. He set down his quill and leaned over his desk. He measured me, judged me, and held my trial in the confines of his mind while I remained silent. It was no longer a moment to speak. I had to wait—long seconds during which Serah questioned me silently with his eyes.

"I remember Abel's joy when we told him who his seeder would be. You weren't there, of course, but if you had seen the purity and euphoria that consumed his lovely features... it would have stolen your breath."

His voice no longer held any lightness or amusement. He could not have been more serious, and addressing him now would have been suicide.

"Many bearers are dutiful, but it is rarer than we admit that they act with a willing heart. I am responsible for that. I had heard rumors about that seeder, but nothing was proven, and I believed that if anyone could mend the situation, it was Abel."

I had read the summary of the trial that followed, but nothing bore more weight than Domiel's own words—he had witnessed the entire ordeal from the front row.

"That boy was perfect, Seriel. In every way: I had never seen a bearer know the The Codex of Virtues so thoroughly, behave so impeccably, or fulfill his role with such devotion. It was magnificent. So when I learned what happened, when they told me what he had done..."

Serah's hand settled on Domiel's shoulder. He paused.

"That day, I knew—whatever anyone would say—that I would believe Abel's words alone, because I knew, and still know, that a bearer like him would never have committed such an atrocity unless he had been pushed to it."

The seeder had won the trial.

"I know what seeders and Patriarchs are made of. I know what you think when your eyes fall on Abel, how deeply he awakens your covetousness. And God, how that infuriates me."

The look Domiel fixed on me was... terrifying. A single twitch, the faintest shift, and I would have exposed myself to his wrath.

"I will believe Abel until my dying day, for that boy is too pure for all of you, and that is why I allowed Saul and Simon to bring him back into their home; why I rejected every union proposal made for Abel."

Abel was his protégé, I understood. Like his own flesh, he would do anything for him.

"Only God knows how many proposals were made despite the marks covering his skin, and again, only God knows what went on in the minds of all his seeders for them to ignore the fact that Abel killed his own child."

The very same thoughts I had in mind—or worse. Domiel spoke true: I was like the others. But I refused to let that stop me.

"So tell me what goes through your mind to make you bring me such a request?"

The slightest mistake, and I would be finished. I inhaled deeply, choosing my words with deliberate care, and finally, I spoke.

"Abel is breathtaking, I agree. He is so beautiful that I felt no revulsion for his marks, but I saw a great deal of pain and fear."

I could read the mistrust in his eyes. He was ready to roar.

We say hello to Patriarch Domiel!

"I saw a brother bend the knee before me and tremble as I touched his nape to absolve him— all of it so his younger brother might still have a chance at union. I saw Saul and Simon work themselves to the bone so that their fruit would be well regarded by me."

"What do you want?"

"I am not asking you to offer him to me as a second bearer. Grant me only some time with him to reintegrate him into Society, gently but surely. I want to help this household. I want to help Abel and lighten Enoch's heart so he may depart in peace."

"So you are not asking that he become your bearer as well?" Domiel pressed.

The truth was, Abel carried sins far too grave for me to ever hope to make him my bearer one day. I was Seriel, Patriarch of the Seriel lineage, and no matter what the lower castes might imagine, I could not afford everything I desired. And yet, I could allow myself a few glances, a few touches... or at least the presence of my newest obsession for a little while. Just long enough before the birth of my fruit with Enoch.

But none of that, Domiel could know.

"No. I will watch over him. The Haulieux Season begins soon. Once it ends, you may come fetch him yourself if you wish. What do you say?"

Domiel observed me for a long moment, then exchanged a look with Serah. The latter gave a soft nod, his hand tightening on his beloved's shoulder.

"Very well," Domiel accepted. "I will speak with Saul today."

I held back a smile. I rose, greeted him politely, and turned on my heel. My heart raced a little at having succeeded. I had lied. I desired a bearer who was not mine, while I was soon to be united. I was sinning, and yet... God, I was delighted.

"Seriel."

I stopped and turned back.

"I am giving you one chance. If I learn that you feel desire for Abel, that you lay a hand on him, or that others do so while he is under your care, it will be execution by the life-knot that I will personally reserve for you."

I shuddered. The life-knot... strangulation by umbilical cord. His gaze would have killed me if it could.

"Do not sin, Patriarch Seriel."